James's Master Plan
by TheSummerNightingale
Summary: "They're at it again," Sirius commented./ "Whose fault was it?" asked Remus./ "There's no question, is there? It's always James's." / James's master plan to ensnare Lily Evans as his date to Hogsmeade backfires on him.


**Written for Ana, you lovely writer! :)**

 **Written for Hogwarts - Rescue the Story - Round 1**

* * *

James and Lily were arguing. _Again_. Sirius had just about had enough of it. They could have argued in private somewhere, but they always seemed to choose the common room in front of everyone.

"It's your fault!" Lily shouted, her face turning beetroot red.

"It's _your_ fault! You always jump off the handle!" James shouted back.

Sirius rolled his eyes, turning to Remus. "They're at it again," he commented.

"Whose fault was it?" Remus asked. "Who's to blame this time?"

"There's no question, is there? It's always James's," he replied with a grin, before turning back to the scene. He relaxed back on the sofa, casually eating his Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. "Do you want some?"

The words had just barely left his mouth when his box of candies was promptly snatched out of his hand. Sirius let out a cry of indignation as Lily, her face red with anger, dumped a handful of jelly beans into her palm and threw it towards James.

" _Godric,_ Lily!" James yelled as he shielded his face. "What's this for?!"

Sirius's jaw dropped open - not in concern for Prongs, but rather at the loss of his precious jelly beans wasted on his friend - but Remus muffled his laugh behind his hand. This was something that many of the onlooking Gryffindors were doing as well.

Lily, on the other hand, didn't look the least bit abated by the sight of James ducking to avoid the candies. "You," she yelled, "are such a _prat_!"

Remus turned to Sirius in alarm as Lily stalked towards the girls' dormitories ("Wait!" James said as he scrambled to follow her). "They haven't broken up _already,_ have they?"

Sirius leaned over the couch to grab the half-empty box from the floor. "Merlin, Evans," he muttered. In answer to Remus's question, he just rolled his eyes. "Well… Remember James's Hogsmeade plan?"

* * *

What had happened was this: A week before the announced Hogsmeade date, James had announced his grand plan to ensnare Lily Evans as his date for the trip.

Sirius had perked up from his lazy sprawl on his bed. "You want help, Prongs?"

"Nah. I have to do this myself." James grinned. "Show my worth to Lily, you know?"

Sirius and Peter exchanged amused glances. "Sure, Prongs," said the latter encouragingly, and that had been all that was spoken of the subject, except when James disappeared two nights in a row to work on his master plan.

He'd spent the third night bouncing on his bed and shaking in giddiness at the fact that Lily had actually agreed to go to Hogsmeade with him.

By the fourth night, the grand plan and its preparations were already forgotten by the four (three of whom did not know much about the plan in the first place, and one who was too drunk in his own happiness to remember that there had ever been a time where he'd doubted he could get the girl).

And so on the day of the Hogsmeade date, Sirius had set off to the village with Lily and James trailing behind him (surprisingly civil in their conversation). Remus was still recovering from last night's full moon, and Peter had disappeared somewhere by himself.

Sirius, therefore, was the only other Marauder around to witness James's brilliant plan put into action.

It started when Lily walked through the gates of Hogsmeade. Sirius recognized a simple Sensory Charm coupled with a more difficult Activation Charm on either side of the gate to recognize Lily out of all the students going to Hogsmeade.

As soon as she put a foot through the gate, flowers burst forth from the ground. The idea would have been romantic if the daisies and roses hadn't tried to bury themselves in the startled Lily's hair, poking her face and arms as she desperately tried to wave them away.

James, apprehending the scene in horror and guilt, attempted to help Lily, only to accidentally activate the next romantic set-up - a long pathway lit up with two lines of floating lights. This, like the flowers, would have been sweet and would have made up for the attacking flowers if there hadn't been the words "FOR LILY EVANS ONLY, WHETHER SHE LIKES IT OR NOT," emblazoned in gold letters on the path.

And so continued James's master plan, which flowed remarkably well. (Thus was the reason why Lily had returned to the common room in such a frazzle.)

* * *

Sirius concluded his account to Remus's appalled look.

"And James didn't stop it?"

Sirius smirked. "His spells were too perfect," he explained. "Since he knew that Evans would fight back, he put up some protective charms. Too bad they backfired on him."

Remus bit his lip nervously. "Well, that was a disaster of a date, don't you think? Wonder if Lily will forgive him."

Sirius leaned back and lifted the half-empty box of Every Flavour jelly beans. "Of course she will," he said confidently. "She'll think it over and see how romantic it is. She'll come to James and apologize. He'll apologize. All will be happy."

He sighed in disappointment as he popped a cherry jelly bean into his mouth. "Except for me," he lamented, and stroked the side of the box. "My poor jelly beans."

* * *

Two nights later, a pack of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans landed on Sirius's shoulder while he was sitting in the common room. He turned around to see Lily with an apologetic grin.

"Sorry about your other one," she called before turning back to James, whom she was curled next to and leaning her head on his shoulder.

And all was well with Sirius and his candies and Lily and James.

* * *

 **Haven't written a Jily in awhile, so I loved writing this. And it feels good to be writing pure humor/fluff again :)**

 **Summer**


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